This is the name of the song we danced to on our wedding day. These are the words that hang above our bed. This is the vow we rise to every morning and the promise we cling to every night as we fall asleep next to one another.

“I won’t give up on us.”

Because the truth is, who hasn’t thought about giving up at one point or another in their relationships? I have. I used to think that if things weren’t working out, that it just wasn’t “meant to be.” But now I know that I have a say in the matter.
There cannot be an “us” if either “I” is checked out. On autopilot. Complacent. Given up.

People often look at Alex and I and think, “How amazing that they found each other. I want what they have.” When, in reality, more than the fact that we found one another, was that we chose each other, and it’s a daily choice we make.

We have only been married 5 years, but we’ve already been through extensive counseling, countless arguments, exchanged hurtful words we cannot take back, leaving one another, coming back, and on the hardest days — doubts.

In our first 9 months of even meeting, we had a surprise pregnancy, went through two international moves, left our families and the life that we knew, and two career changes.

Our first year of marriage was simultaneously our first year as parents together and our first year of even knowing one another. There were so many times I wanted to quit my life, to quit him, and to give up because maybe we had made a mistake. The wrong choice.

But now I know that there are no wrong choices.
Your choices are yours to make, and yours to uphold. That is your privilege.

Let this be a gentle reminder that it is a privilege to love, and to be loved in return. So, love well, and don’t give up on each other.